


Spring Afternoon

by stardropdream



Category: Gate 7
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-04
Updated: 2013-10-04
Packaged: 2017-12-28 09:13:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/990302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardropdream/pseuds/stardropdream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tachibana comes home and no one is home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spring Afternoon

When Tachibana arrives home from class that day, there’s no one home. He frowns, drops his bag and his shoes in the foyer and wanders through the house, looking for a note – usually, if Sakura’s going to be out, he’ll leave a note on the white board (obnoxiously signed with an insignia of his flower which is at once adorable and stupidly annoying because he’s too big and stupid to be adorable). He doesn’t see one and he frowns, frustrated, and perhaps a little worried.

But then he passes by the open doorway leading to the backyard and when he peeks outside, he sees Sakura sitting in the garden, mending some of Hana’s old clothes and enjoying the sunshine. The little tiger that Hana brought home a few weeks ago is there, too, wandering around the garden and attacking anything that moves – at the moment it appears to be a butterfly. In fact, the entire garden is full of butterflies and Tachibana crosses his arms, grumpy, as he steps out onto the veranda and calls out, “What the hell are you doing?”

Sakura looks up, pausing where he’s trying to mend a hole on one of Hana’s jackets, and he smiles a little when he recognizes Tachibana.

“Welcome home,” Sakura offers.

“Yeah, yeah,” Tachibana dismisses with a shrug, stepping down into the garden and wandering over to him, ducking away from a low-flying butterfly that nearly hits him in the face. “Where’s Hana?”

“She and Chika-chan went to get some noodles for dinner,” Sakura says, and then hums out. “So expect them in about five hours.”

“Very funny,” Tachibana grumbles, dropping down beside Sakura and watching the cat pounce on a piece of grass wavering in the wind. 

“How was class?” Sakura asks, ducking his head to focus on his mending again. His elbow bumps against Tachibana’s side accidentally as he works and Tachibana grunts in reply.

“… It was okay,” he offers after a moment, unsure what to say. He frowns and crosses his arms again, not sure why he feels embarrassed. “It wasn’t that interesting.”

“Education’s important,” Sakura offers in a manner that suggests that he may not necessarily believe what he’s saying – not that Tachibana expects much from a guy who hasn’t been in school in years. He rolls his eyes. 

“Whatever.”

They sit in silence, although for once, Tachibana actually feels comfortable in the silence. The sun is shining and it’s a warm day in spring, so he doesn’t feel unnecessarily overwhelmed or overheated or too grumpy, all things considered. And he likes Sakura if only because the idiot knows when small talk is okay and when it’s okay to just sit together without saying anything – without having to say anything. 

He glances at Sakura, watching the way he works – he can’t mend for shit, so secretly maybe he’s a little impressed with how easily Sakura handles the needle – and frowns a bit. Sakura’s smiling, even as he concentrates, his fingers solid and steady as he works. Tachibana sighs out, glancing up at Sakura’s face. 

“… There’s a butterfly in your hair,” Tachibana says after a moment. 

“Really?” Sakura’s hand lifts as if to feel but then seems to think better of it, letting it drop away again. He grins up at Tachibana and looks like a complete and utter fool, a little butterfly fluttering its wings slowly as it sits on top of his head. It’s almost sickeningly adorable and Tachibana has half a mind to just insult it outright as such.

Instead, he just smiles a little. “You look ridiculous.” 

“You always say that,” Sakura protests, but doesn’t sound insulted – he never does. He turns his head a bit, smiling gently at Tachibana.

Tachibana feels the heat touching his cheeks and he looks away, clearing his throat. “Well, what do you expect, if you’re just going to work out here like a weirdo?”

“It’s a nice day,” Sakura offers, “and the company’s nice, too.”

“Shut up,” is Tachibana’s intelligent reply.


End file.
